Thursday, November 29, 2012

Poor Travis is getting annoyed with all the traditions that I insist that we keep from my childhood. Clam chowder on Christmas eve, new Christmas pjs for the boys, Christmas cards, Christmas Breakfast Pudding, a live Christmas tree (and can we please chop it down ourselves?), and the list goes on.... and it includes Christmas Puppets.

My mom made a set of these for our family when I was little, and last Christmas we made these together for my little family. The boys were still too little to really care about them last Christmas, so I never blogged about it. But we've been playing with them a lot this week and it makes me so pleased!

Sorry the pictures are slightly blurry! I only noticed after I uploaded them, and I'm not interested in retaking pictures of these puppets.

Micah loves for everything to have an "official sound" that they make. You know, Santa says "Ho, ho, ho!" Cows say "Mooo."
So lots of these puppets have things that they say at our house. The angel says "Hosana!" and Micah carries her around saying "Ana! Ana!" I love it.

Anyway, here they all are. There's not really a tutorial, but here are some tips if you want to make your own based on the pictures:

Each puppet is cut from two matching pieces of felt. I used bits of ribbon and ricrac for other ornaments. If you're going to change the thread on your machine after each puppet, then I suggest making two or three sets at once and giving them as gifts. It's not much harder or more expensive and it makes you feel better about filling up a bobbin with purple thread.
Also, when I was a kid, I always wished that the bundled-up baby Jesus would velcro on and off Mary's arm, but as a Mom I changed my mind. I know that little bundle of joy would be instantly lost in our chaotic house. But it's a thought.

The wisemen are the most fun because they can be brightly colored and creativly shaped. The purple wiseman is everyone's favorite puppet, because he brought baby Jesus bells, so he jingles. The other gifts are just buttons, or a bit of felt and ribbon.

That sheep is ridiculous and I hate him. But a sheep needs to be there, and my kids love it. They rub it in each other's faces and say, "BAAAAA!" Travis calls it a "wooly owl."
So. Good luck making a sheep. Call and tell me how you did it.

The angel is really sparkly, and in fact, I used special sparkly felt. My mom's angel has doll hair or something, and it's really fun - but I went on the cheap, and used a scrap of yellow fabric. That star has foily-fabric stuck on it from another project, but would look really cute with sparkly ribbon, beads, or buttons.

I loved these puppets when I was a kid. They seemed extra special, because we only played with them once a year. They were especially fun on Christmas Eve, because we would usually have a party with friends, cousins, neighbors, etc. And at some point, we'd all sit down and read the Christmas story. We'd pass out puppets to all the kids, and get to act out the Christmas Story (while still being forced to pay attention and be relatively still) and it was always a little silly as whoever had the Mary puppet pretended to ride the donkey puppet, or the Shepherd and the sheep, trying to cozy up so they could "walk to the stable" themselves.
Anyway.
What do you think?
I'd love to see if any of you have similar "nativities" or if you decide to make your own.

Oh sorry, I wasn't signed in. As I tried to say previously, very nice traditions that I know darling Travis must really love. Maybe you need to make a few Baby Jesus puppets so you have a spare if he gets lost.

Love it! We also have the clam chowder on Christmas Eve tradition. It still can't be changed. My brother has a nativity made out of rubber ducks. The kids can play with them or they can be put in a bowl with water to float.